Read the full article by Lisa Bell at FresnoStateNews.com.
The joyful sounds of the African Drum Interactive beat through the Fresno State Peace Garden like a chorus of exuberant heartbeats on Sept. 12, kicking off the unveiling ceremony for the latest addition to the monument statues honoring peacemakers from around the globe.
A life-sized bronze statue of anti-apartheid activist, former South African president and Nobel Peace Prize winner Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela stands just east of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. statue, facing the Fresno State Library from in front of the Professional Human Services building. This is the first new statue added to the garden in nearly 20 years.
Dr. Siyabulela Mandela, a human rights scholar, delivered a keynote address titled “Reconciliation: Fostering Peace Through a Search for Common Grounds.” He talked about the original first name that Nelson Mandela’s father gave him — Rolihlahla — its meaning and how that played out in Nelson Mandela’s legacy.
The Nelson Mandela Monument unveiling was presented by the Fresno State Office of the President and the M.K. Gandhi Center: Inner Peace and Sarvodaya and supported by the Africana Studies Program.
The College of Arts and Humanities at Fresno State 